Monthly Archives: March 2012

Eddie Jordan received an unexpected honorary OBE in midweek (Wikipedia)

TV PUNDIT and former Grand Prix team boss Eddie Jordan has been made a honorary OBE by the Queen. Jordan, who has just celebrated his 64th birthday said to his employers, the BBC; “When it’s not something you’re expecting you dismiss it. It came as a big shock, but I’m thrilled.”

Born in Dublin in 1948, Jordan has had a colourful involvement in the sport ever since 1991, when his team made their debut. It took eight years for victory success, when Damon Hill led Ralf Schumacher home to a famous 1-2 finish at the Belgian Grand Prix. After 250 events, he sold his struggling team to Midland F1 in 2005, which is now known as Sahara Force India. He has been part of the BBC F1 presenting team since they regained UK TV rights of the sport in 2009. He has received the honour due to his services for motor racing and also, his fantastic charity work. Jordan is a patron of the child cancer charity CLIC Sargent.

Having been absent from the BBC F1’s team in Malaysia, it is belived that EJ will be back for the corporation first live event of the season in Shanghai on April 14-15.

PIRELLI have announced their driver line-up today in the role of testing the latest tyre developments. Former Virgin driver Lucas di Grassi will be joined by axed Toro Rosso star Jaime Alguersuari. The Spaniard, who turned 22 years old last week, will return to the F1 cockpit for the first time since his former employers decided to replace him with Jean-Eric Vergne just before Christmas. This season, Alguersuari is going to combine his role with a job being an expert analyst for the commentary team on BBC Radio Five Live.

Jaime Alguersuari's career has received a real boost today (Daily Telegraph)

Alguersuari was delighted when the news was confirmed today, telling Planet F1; “A week ago it was my birthday, when I turned 22, and now Pirelli has given me the best possible present. I can’t wait to get started with this very important and challenging job of developing the new tyres for the future, which I’m looking forward to a lot. I have a huge desire to get behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car again and return to competition, so this is a brilliant chance for me.”

Pirelli have upgraded their test car to a 2010 Renault chassis, having ran a 2009 Toyota for the past two seasons. Pedro de la Rosa, Nick Heidfeld and Romain Grosjean have previously used the role as a parachute into getting back into F1 competition. Now, with this move, Alguersuari has every chance of following in their paths.

IN A NEW regular series, I will be profiling the careers of those drivers who won races and championships and those who either didn’t get the luck, or just failed at the top level of motorsport. All drivers featured will have competed between the years 1991-2011.

The first driver featured in The Driver Files is the Frenchman, Erik Comas.

Erik Comas had a frustrating career in Formula One (Speed TV)

NAME: Erik Comas

TEAMS: Ligier (1991-92), Larrousse (1993-94)

POINTS: 7

GP STARTS: 59

BEST FINISH: 5th (1992 French Grand Prix)

ERIK Comas was part of the former French generation. He came through the junior ranks alongside the likes of Eric Bernard and Jean Alesi. In fact, Alesi only narrowly pipped him to the F3000 championship in 1989. Erik bounced back to win the title the following season, adding to success in winning the French Formula 3 title in 1988.

With a proven record in junior formulae, Erik had forged himself a strong reputation and was signed by a Ligier team in 1991 that was going through a period of severe decline. He was never the most exciting or vintage competitor, but had the ability to get the job done. The 1991 Ligier Lamborghini was not a good car, proved by him failing to qualify for his first event in Phoenix. Thierry Boutsen, a Grand Prix winner with Williams was his team-mate and he struggled too with a poor chassis. Comas did well to match his more experienced team-mate, but neither driver scored a point. Erik’s best result in his debut season was 8th placed in a carnaged Canadian Grand Prix.

Ligier switched to Renault engines in 1992 and things improved for both drivers. This season turned out to be Comas’s peak in his F1 career. He finished seven of the first nine events and came in the points on three separate occasions. His best ever career result was a fifth place performance at his home event in France. Sixth in Canada and Germany meant he finished equal 11th in the drivers championship, with four points. However, his working relationship with Boutsen took a nosedive as they took each other off in two separate races; (Brazil & Hungary). Both were fired at the end of the season, to be replaced by English duo Martin Brundle and Mark Blundell.

Before that though, Erik had a lucky escape during practice for the Belgian Grand Prix. He had a mammoth shunt at the flat-out Blanchimont corner, which knocked him out. Boutsen drove past the wreckage, but Ayrton Senna bravely stopped his McLaren, got out of his car and rushed to his stricken colleague. He held Comas’s head still until the paramedics arrived. Luckily, he only suffered concussion but his race weekend ended there and he never finished a race for Ligier again.

Staying loyal to French teams, Erik moved to Larrousse for 1993, partnered by the French no-hoper Phillipe Alliot. He scrambled sixth place at Monza and qualified an excellent 11th in France, ahead of Riccardo Patrese’s Benetton and Gerhard Berger’s Ferrari. However, the accident in Belgium the previous season seemed to have knocked any forward motions in his form. As Larrousse’s finances seriously declined, Comas went backwards and plugged away through 1994, when he was partnered by many team-mates, including Olivier Beretta, Yannick Dalmas and Hideki Noda. If anything, his career will be remembered more for a crazy incident on the fateful Imola weekend.

Following Senna’s serious accident, a member of the Larrousse team clearly didn’t realise the situation and allowed Comas out of the pitlane underneath a red flag. He screamed through the flat Tamburello bend and was lucky to be flagged down without clobbering the medical helicopter or track officials. The scenes were so distressing for Erik, he didn’t feel like taking the restart. Although he got blamed for exiting the pits, it seemed like a team communication issue was the main fault. Nevertheless, it was a ridiculous move and just added to the nightmare that was Imola 1994.

Comas managed sixth place finishes in Aida and at Hockenheim, but said during the year that he would retire from Formula One if he would end up being outqualified by a Simtek. In Spa, David Brabham managed this and the Australian gloated afterwards, telling media; “I wish Erik a very happy retirement!’ He was replaced by the end of the season, with Jean Denis Delatraz taking his seat for the season finale in Australia.

Since Formula One ended for him, Comas spent several years competing in GT racing in Japan, as well as focusing on driver management, promoting further French talent. He suffered from ill health in 2006 and effectively retired from all forms of racing. Today, he runs Comas Historic Racing, which is a service that provides customers to pay and drive historic rally driving cars.

Erik Comas ended up having a frustrating Formula One career, which promised much after success in junior formulae, but ended with little joy.

NEXT UP IN THE DRIVER FILES: An Italian whose career ended thanks to one of the worst chassis/engine combinations in history – Stefano Modena

WELCOME to my second driver performance scoring chart of the 2012 Formula One season which covers how I thought every driver did in the 2012 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix from Sepang;

JENSON BUTTON

By Jenson’s high standards, Malaysia 2012 will be a weekend he will want to forget pretty quickly. His practice running on Friday was compromised by a hydraulics problem. Although his race simulation pace was impressive, it was difficult to gauge how close he would be to Lewis Hamilton in qualifying. Another majestic Hamilton lap in qualifying kept Jenson off the pole and the pair were running nose to tail in the race. That was until Button ran into Narain Karthikeyan and broke his front wing. For once, he couldn’t capitalise on the mixed weather conditions and his struggles in the midfield afterwards highlight just how close the midfield pack is in 2012. At least he had the honesty to admit his mistakes afterwards. 7/10

SEBASTIAN VETTEL

Like Button, Sebastian Vettel had a mere in Malaysia and scored no points for his valiant efforts. He looked dejected and frustrated all weekend, clearly looking concerned about Red Bull’s outright pace. A potential masterstroke to qualify on the prime tyres rather than the options that he never got working all weekend was ruined by Sunday’s changeable conditions. His race was fairly quiet, but Hamilton was in his sights for a potential podium until his clash with Narain Karthikeyan. Who’s fault it was is irrelevant and the war of words afterwards suggests that Sebastian is struggling under pressure. It is totally unnecessary too. He will be hoping for much better in China. 7/10

LEWIS HAMILTON

Lewis Hamilton was the dominant pacesetter throughout the first two days in Malaysia. He was fastest by some distance on Friday and scored his second consecutive pole position with something to spare in qualifying. Hamilton was hindered by a couple of dreadful pitstops in the race, one when the team struggled to remove gaffer tape from the front brake ducts. Nevertheless, McLaren’s lack of pace in the wet/dry format will give the team a few concerns, especially considering their dominance in recent years through this weather. It was a mature and controlled drive from Hamilton to finish on the podium, who looks to be at least more of a consistent force than he was last year. 8/10

MARK WEBBER

The Mark Webber from 2010 is back and looking very hungry this season. He defintely seems far happier than Sebastian Vettel in the 2012 Red Bull and his general speed is encouraging. A solid couple of days in practice lined him up for an excellent fourth in qualifying, less than 0.3secs away from the pole. Incredibly, he made a great start too and once Romain Grosjean had destroyed Michael Schumacher’s race, was third in the early stages. Cautious after the restart cost him positions to both Fernando Alonso and Vettel, but his team-mate’s run-in with Karthikeyan gifted him his second successive fourth place. If the team can improve all round, I reckon Webber can be a multiple winner at the minimum in 2012. 8/10

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER

Michael Schumacher is achieving little reward for a very promising return to his old self. His Achilles heel of the failed comeback previously had been qualifying. However, he backed up second in Friday practice with third on the grid on Saturday, only fractionally off the pace of the McLaren’s. He got a tardy start, but was spun around in turn three by an ambitious Romain Grosjean on the first lap. Afterwards, the lack of pace from the Mercedes was badly highlighted, but Schumacher kept fighting on and he got a late point for his efforts when Pastor Maldonado retired with a technical problem. I don’t he will have enjoyed being passed around the outside by both Bruno Senna and Kamui Kobayashi though! 7/10

Alonso showed his class on Sunday (Motorsportretro)

FERNANDO ALONSO

Hamilton might be unbeatable on his day and Vettel has set the benchmark in recent years. However, no-one can match Fernando Alonso when it comes to getting the most out of a car. Tactically, he is world class and it was shown in abundance on raceday. Not many would have won in this Ferrari that has handled like a dog, but Alonso has and it proves his standing as one of the greatest ever behind the wheel. With a minor front wing upgrade, he dragged the machinery into Q3 and eighth was solid considering the team’s low expectations. He made the most of others mistakes, kept cool under severe pressure from Sergio Perez and produced an ultimate masterclass in how to handle a wet/dry event. Incredibly, he now leads the championship. Deserved for his sheer skill. 9/10

NICO ROSBERG

2012 is a frustrating start for the whole Mercedes team and Nico Rosberg will be lamenting it more than anyone. A former specialist of Sepang, Rosberg has been outdriven comprehensively in the first two races by Michael Schumacher and it is mistakes of his that aren’t helping his cause. Fastest in FP3, another scrappy qualifying performance left him out of position in seventh on the grid. Sixth on the first lap, he made an early move for intermediates on the restart which had him upto fourth. However, the chronic tyre wear issues that Mercedes have, left him vulnerable to the likes of Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. A suicidal decision by the team to keep him out on intermediates when dries were the better option towards the end finished his unimpressive weekend. 6/10

PASTOR MALDONADO

The chequered flag still awaits a Pastor Maldonado finish after two events, but it isn’t for the worth of trying. A mistake in Q2 saw the Venezuelan take a trip into the gravel, removing aerodynamic components from his Williams in the process. Nevertheless, he only narrowly missed out on the pole shootout. On raceday, his team-mate Bruno Senna had his number and an unseen collision before the race stoppage between the pair nearly ruined Williams weekend. Both recovered and a point was Maldonado’s when his Renault engine expired with only two laps remaining. Points for him are going to happen, it is a matter of when, not if. 7/10

ROMAIN GROSJEAN

Sensational on Saturdays and sorrow on Sundays is the story of 2012 so far for Romain Grosjean. This time, it was all his own making. From an impressive sixth on the grid, he made a magnificent start to be third into the first corner. Under pressure from Mark Webber though, the Frenchman made a clumsy mistake and slammed into Michael Schumacher at turn three, spinning both drivers around. Three laps later, he got caught out by the wet conditions and beached his Lotus into the gravel trap. Lotus will need him to cut out these errors, especially as they have a strong car to begin with this season. 7/10

SERGIO PEREZ

Sergio Perez was always seen as a solid racing driver, but his performance in Malaysia has seen his stock rise incredibly high. Arguably, it is an event he could have ended up winning. Having struggled on Friday, the Mexican did really well to reach Q3 on Saturday and Kimi Raikkonen’s grid penalty left him starting ninth. He pitted for extreme wets at the end of the first circuit, launching him upto third by the time of the red flag. Afterwards, he only got stronger and stronger and but for a late error which saw him run wide in turn 13, he might well have caught and passed Alonso. With Felipe Massa totally out of form, Perez surely has a great chance now of landing the second Ferrari seat very soon. 10/10

KIMI RAIKKONEN

It was another case of what might have been for Kimi in Malaysia. He lost one of his crash helmets in a Lotus hospitality fire on Friday night, only hours after requiring a gearbox change, consequently landing a five place grid demotion. Fastest in Q2, Raikkonen was fifth fastest in Q3, setting the same exact time as Mark Webber. Starting from tenth, his pace in the wet wasn’t good, but got stronger as the track dried out. He finished fifth and set fastest lap but his frustration afterwards suggests that with more luck, a podium position was more than possible. 8/10

KAMUI KOBAYASHI

Performed well in Australia, but got a tonking from an inspired Sergio Perez on this occasion. Kobayashi’s Friday running was restricted by a gearbox issue, which the team managed to fix without receiving a penalty. He drove poorly in Q2 to end up slowest qualifier, but did have moments in the race, including a brave pass around the outside of a tyre-hungry Michael Schumacher in turn five. Ultimately, Kamui couldn’t keep up with the pace and a brake problem forced him to retire in the pits after 46 laps. A tricky weekend. 4/10

JEAN-ERIC VERGNE

Having reached the top ten in FP2 on Friday, Jean-Eric Vergne had a frustrating day on Saturday and the young Frenchman was the midfield runner who dropped out in Q1. He stayed out in the first phase of the race to rise upto ninth and ran all afternoon with the Force India drivers. Vergne lost out to di Resta, but beat Hulkenberg to finish a delighted eighth; the rookie’s first points finish. It certainly won’t be his last. 7/10

One of the rare occasions Hulkenberg was ahead of his team-mate this weekend (beyondtheracingline)

NICO HULKENBERG

On a circuit where he starred in the wet in A1GP for Team Germany back in 2007, Nico Hulkenberg couldn’t repeat the magic this season. This was mainly down to the car’s lack of pace, but he brought it home in a solid, if unspectacular ninth place. Unlike Australia however, Hulkenberg was soundly beaten in both qualifying and the race by Paul di Resta. The battle between the two Force India drivers is certainly living upto expectations. 6/10

FELIPE MASSA

A new chassis didn’t work and now, Felipe Massa’s time at Ferrari is surely up. It was another below-par weekend, where he failed to trouble the top ten in the timesheets at any point. 18th in FP3, a better qualifying effort pushed Massa into 12th, a closer 0.3secs shy of Alonso’s Q2 time and Fernando only just scraped into the shootout. After holding down ninth place from the restart, he cracked under pressure from Paul di Resta and took a detour into the gravel. A move onto dries saw him fall further backwards and lacking the confidence seen in Melbourne. With no specific problems, 15th place and nearly a lap down behind his race winning team-mate, alarm bells must be ringing now. 4/10

BRUNO SENNA

Having been outperformed by his team-mate in Australia, Bruno Senna had a point to prove in Sepang. This he did, with a superb run to sixth place, easily his best ever career result. Qualifying was a struggle, which saw the Brazilian back in 13th. He then had off-camera incidents with Maldonado and Paul di Resta, which left him second last when the red flag came out. Afterwards, he drove really well and will have enjoyed his pass right around the outside of Michael Schumacher. He made light work of di Resta in the closing stages to secure Williams best finish in a long time. Rubens who? 8/10

DANIEL RICCIARDO

Ricciardo reached the top five in FP2 on Friday but that was to be the highlight of a tough second outing for him at Toro Rosso. Having wound up 15th in qualifying, he had a quiet afternoon which only livened up by becoming the first driver to pit for dries. The move was brave and inspired and for that, Ricciardo deserved more than the 12th place he ended up with at the chequered flag. 7/10

PAUL DI RESTA

di Resta’s Friday was a nightmare so to finish seventh at the end of the race was a very creditable effort. He lined up 14th following brake and handling issues throughout free practice, but he did have the measure of Nico Hulkenberg this weekend. A clash with Bruno Senna before the red flag came out hindered his early progress but he recovered well and impressive tyre management had him in the points by the chequered flag for the second successive weekend. 7/10

VITALY PETROV

Last season, Vitaly Petrov attempted flying lessons in Sepang but he had an untroubled and excellent weekend. Outqualified narrowly by Kovalainen, Petrov moved up following the Finn’s grid demotion. In the race, he kept up with Kamui Kobayashi and held off Felipe Massa easily until the conditions dried up, which made him easy meat for the midfield. 16th at the end, but like Ricciardo, probably deserved a slightly better finish. 7/10

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN

Following a five place grid demotion, Kovalainen never featured and finished behind Timo Glock’s Marussia on merit. A dismal weekend and one the Finn will be erasing from his memory very quickly. 5/10

TIMO GLOCK

Timo Glock is currently driving out of his skin and performing miracles in a car that at times, has the handling ability of a Morris Minor! He qualified 21st, less than a second behind the Caterham team and split their cars in the race, only finishing a lap down. At the moment, he is doing all that can be asked from him in difficult circumstances. 7/10

CHARLES PIC

Frenchman Charles Pic continues to stay out of the limelight, but is getting the mileage he needed so badly in winter testing. Less than 0.5secs behind Glock in qualifying was a mighty effort and he survived the difficult conditions to take his first F1 finish, 20th and two laps down. 6/10

NARAIN KARTHIKEYAN

It was Karthikeyan’s first race since India last year and it certainly was dramatic. He survived on intermediates in the worst conditions to rise as high as tenth, the highest a HRT driver has ever been. He was the innocent party in the knock he received from Jenson Button and although lapping slowly, didn’t do much wrong when Sebastian Vettel moved across on him towards the end. The stewards disagreed and handed him a time penalty afterwards. However, it was a capable return to the cockpit. 6/10

PEDRO DE LA ROSA

de la Rosa was almost non-existent throughout the weekend, although he did start the race from the pitlane after a technical issue on the dummy grid. Afterwards, he stayed out of trouble and made plenty of room for the frontrunners to lap him. He finished last, promoted when Karthikeyan got a penalty for the Vettel incident in the stewards office. 5/10

LESS than 24 hours after Bruno Senna’s stirring drive to sixth place in the Malaysian Grand Prix, the restructuring of the Williams Formula One team continues. The chairman of Williams, Adam Parr has resigned. Reaction to this news has been seen as a surprise, many believing that Parr was the figurehead of the team to ultimately replace Sir Frank Williams.

Adam Parr and Williams have gone their separate ways (RaceDepartment)

Parr will leave his position on Friday, having been at the helm since 2010. He has been with the team in some form of capacity since 2006. This follows Sir Frank Williams decision to resign from the board last month and Sam Michael’s defection to McLaren at the back end of last season. In a statement on the team’s website, Sir Frank had nothing but thanks for Parr; “Over five years, Adam’s achievements have surpassed my expectations and I must thank him for his service. Not least for the decisive role he played in the technical changes made last year which are beginning to show through in the team’s improved competitiveness this season, and for leading this company to a successful IPO. Adam leaves us on good terms to pursue a better balance in his life for which I wish him and his family well. He has left us in good shape and I have every confidence that the Board and senior management team at Williams will continue to drive the business forward into a promising future.”

Senna’s sixth place result yesterday means that the team has already collected more points than it did in the the whole of 2011. Team-mate Pastor Maldonado crashed out from the same position in Australia last weekend. Following the promising signs of competitiveness Williams has shown in the first two races of 2012, this news shows no-one can rest on their laurels in F1. Nick Rose will take over next week, appointed as non-executive chairman. No reason has been given for Parr’s sudden departure.

FERRARI returned to the top of the podium against the odds in the Malaysian Grand Prix today. Fernando Alonso drove an awesome race in very changeable conditions to take an unlikely victory, taking advantage of superb pitwork and awful pitstops from McLaren that put them in the driving seat. The drive of the day though came from Sergio Perez. The Mexican drove a blinding race to finish second, achieving Sauber’s best ever result as an independent constructor. Alonso is now the surprising leader in the drivers standings, as Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes GP had a day to forget.

Cooler conditions and grey skies overhead threw all planned strategies out of the window as the build-up to the lights going out came closer. With rain in the air, all drivers started on intermediate tyres, apart from Pedro de la Rosa. The Spaniard would begin from the pitlane after an issue firing up his car on the dummy grid. When the lights went out, the two McLaren’s charged away from the rest of the field, with Lewis Hamilton protecting the inside line from Button to maintain track position, unlike last Sunday in Melbourne. Into turn three, Michael Schumacher was tagged by the fast-starting Romain Grosjean in the Lotus which saw both cars spin around. The unrepentant Frenchman blamed his rival, telling Reuters: “I was there, I was careful and unfortunately Schumacher hit me in turn four and I spun.” At the end of a very tricky first lap, Hamilton led Button, Mark Webber, Vettel, Alonso and Nico Rosberg. Meantime, Perez’s stunning day started with an inspired decision to pit for extreme wets at the end of the first lap. This moved him upto into third place by the time everyone else made the same switch.

Grosjean became an early casualty again, when he spun off on the fourth lap entering turn six. Soon afterwards, a bolt of lightning hit the circuit and the Safety Car was dispatched as conditions worsened. Button saying over the team radio; “The last sector is like a lake.” On lap nine, Charlie Whiting sensibly got the track officials to throw the red flag, suspending the race pending a Safety Car restart. Following a 50 minute delay, the cars left the grid with Hamilton leading Button, Perez, Webber, Alonso and Vettel. Following four slow laps, conditions eased up on lap 13 for the green light to resume racing. Some drivers, including Rosberg and Kimi Raikkonen came straight in for intermediate tyres. On the restart, Alonso caught Webber napping into the first corner and vaulted into third position, as Button had also pitted after the restart for fresh rubber.

Button's misjudgement cost him dear (Autosport)

Two laps later, Perez inherited the lead as Hamilton came in. However, a delay on the rear jack, combined with having to wait whilst Felipe Massa came into his box saw the McLaren costly lose track position to both Alonso and Button. Perez’s gamble of staying out an extra lap saw him have the lead on merit, but only briefly as better traction off turn two on lap 16 gave Alonso first position. Traditionally, Jenson Button thrives in these conditions but a lap earlier, he made a clumsy error of judgement and tagged the Hispania of Narain Karthikeyan in turn nine. No blame could be attached to the Indian driver, as they were battling for position at the time. Another horrible McLaren pitstop whilst his front wing was changed effectively took the Melbourne winner out of serious contention for points.

For a while, Alonso threatened to runaway completely from the rest of the field, but as his intermediate tyres started to lose grip, Perez continued to hassle him with the gap dropping to less than a second. The Sauber was the fastest car on the circuit, proven by his string of fastest laps. Further back, a dry line began to appear and Daniel Ricciardo’s smart move onto slick tyres saw another mad dash for the right rubber, with little change to the significant positions. Once again Mercedes showed no race pace whatsoever, evidently showed when Rosberg lost three positions to Vettel, Raikkonen and Webber in two laps. He finished out of the points, whilst Schumacher benefited from a late engine failure on Pastor Maldonado’s luckless Williams to score a fortunate point.

For once, Vettel was out of luck too, as he collected an instant left-rear puncture whilst lapping Karthikeyan with eight laps remaining. The German’s choice of sign language wasn’t appropriate, but understandable as he lost a certain fourth place. The damage to his tyre destroyed the rear brake duct on his Red Bull, which led to the team almost retiring him on the final lap. In the media pen afterwards, Vettel didn’t hold back on his words to BBC’s Lee McKenzie; “To lose the points like that is extremely frustrating. It’s like on the normal roads, you have some idiots driving around and it seems like we have one driving here.”

Just as Perez prepared himself for a possible attack on Alonso, he made his only error of the afternoon by running wide in turn 14 and onto the damp run-off area. The mistake cost him five seconds, but didn’t affect his confidence as he continued to hunt down Alonso in the final few metres. Remarkably, the Spaniard held on for his third success in Malaysia, his 28th career victory but Perez’s second place brought team principal Peter Sauber to tears. Without the BMW involvement, it beats Sauber’s best ever result, achieved by Jean Alesi at the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix. Hamilton had a lonely run to third infront of Webber, Raikkonen and Bruno Senna’s Williams. Paul di Resta, Jean-Eric Vergne, Nico Hulkenberg and Schumacher completed the points scoring. Massa had another day to forget, finishing 15th after spending half his race battling Vitaly Petrov’s inferior Caterham. Alonso was honest enough in his assessment of things in the post-race press conference; “The win is an unexpected surprise, we were not competitive in Australia or here and the goal for the first few races was to score as many points as possible. It’s an unbelievable result and a great job from the team.”

Today, Fernando Alonso reminded us just why he is a former double world champion whilst Sergio Perez deserves to share the headlines for his incredible drive. He gave us a glimpse of a promising future, possibly very soon as Alonso’s team-mate. The teams head home for a three week break, before resuming in China on April 13-15.

2012 PETRONAS MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX FINAL RACE RESULT

POS

DRIVER

TEAM

LAPS

TIME/DNF REASON

1

FERNANDO ALONSO

FERRARI

56

2hr 44min 51secs

2

SERGIO PEREZ

SAUBER FERRARI

56

+2.2secs

3

LEWIS HAMILTON

MCLAREN MERCEDES

56

+14.5secs

4

MARK WEBBER

RED BULL RACING RENAULT

56

+17.6secs

5

KIMI RAIKKONEN

LOTUS RENAULT

56

+29.4secs

6

BRUNO SENNA

WILLIAMS RENAULT

56

+37.6secs

7

PAUL DI RESTA

FORCE INDIA MERCEDES

56

+44.4secs

8

JEAN-ERIC VERGNE

STR FERRARI

56

+46.9secs

9

NICO HULKENBERG

FORCE INDIA MERCEDES

56

+47.8secs

10

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER

MERCEDES GP

56

+49.9secs

11

SEBASTIAN VETTEL

RED BULL RACING RENAULT

56

+1min 15.5secs

12

DANIEL RICCIARDO

STR FERRARI

56

+1min 16.8secs

13

NICO ROSBERG

MERCEDES GP

56

+1min 18.5secs

14

JENSON BUTTON

MCLAREN MERCEDES

56

+1min 19.7secs

15

FELIPE MASSA

FERRARI

56

+1min 27.3secs

16

VITALY PETROV

CATERHAM RENAULT

55

1 LAP

17

TIMO GLOCK

MARUSSIA COSWORTH

55

1 LAP

18

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN

CATERHAM RENAULT

55

1 LAP

19

PASTOR MALDONADO

WILLIAMS RENAULT

54

ENGINE

20

CHARLES PIC

MARUSSIA COSWORTH

54

2 LAPS

21

PEDRO DE LA ROSA

HRT COSWORTH

54

2 LAPS

22

NARAIN KARTHIKEYAN

HRT COSWORTH

54

2 LAPS

Retired

KAMUI KOBAYASHI

SAUBER FERRARI

46

BRAKES

Retired

ROMAIN GROSJEAN

LOTUS RENAULT

3

SPUN OFF

Narain Karthikeyan was given a 20 second time penalty for causing an avoidable accident

BRITAIN’s fantastic start to this season’s Formula One world championship continued in Malaysia today, as for the second successive Saturday, two British drivers take the front row of the grid. As in Melbourne last week, Lewis Hamilton took his second pole position in a row by a small margin from Jenson Button. Michael Schumacher achieved his best ever position of his second comeback, lining up third for Mercedes GP. The race tomorrow is set for an interesting battle involving looking after tyres in sweltering track and air temperatures.

The first qualifying session saw Jean-Eric Vergne ending up as the surprise casualty from the midfield, despite some threatening pace from Toro Rosso on Friday. Heikki Kovalainen will start last on the grid, following his penalty that he picked up in the race in Albert Park for overtaking cars behind the Safety Car. The Finn revealed to Sky Sports F1; “To be honest, the balance of the car wasn’t as good on the soft tyres as it was on the harder tyres. I don’t know why and whether it is the same for everybody. Even with my penalty, I reckon I will be up to my normal position quite quickly.” Kovalainen will begin behind both HRT’s, who both escaped the 107 per cent ruling and will start the event tomorrow.

In Q2, Felipe Massa failed to make the top ten, although he was a more slender 0.3secs behind Fernando Alonso. Although Alonso made it into the pole position shootout, eigth and 12th on the grid highlights Ferrari’s fundamental issues. Urgent development is required on the car before the next event in China which is on the 15 April. Also dropping out was Pastor Maldonado who created some headaches in the Williams garage by an early excursion into the gravel at turn 11, damaging barge board components.

The remains of Lotus hospitality unit after a fridge fire last night (Crash.net)

In the final session, Lotus backed up their solid pace shown throughout the weekend so far. Despite a major fire in the hospitality suite they were staying in last night, which lost them millions of pounds in equipment, the team bounced back with Romain Grosjean impressing to sixth. Kimi Raikkonen actually set the fastest time in Q2 and ended up in fifth on the timecharts. However, he will start tenth following an overnight gearbox change. Red Bull opted for split strategies on their two cars. Unhappy with the balance on the option tyre, Sebastian Vettel elected to stick on the prime tyre. Fifth place was a good save although the world champion did look deflated in the media pen afterwards. Mark Webber stuck with the traditional route and came fourth quickest, lapping fastest in Q1 and proving that the team does have some one lap pace.

As expected, McLaren and Mercedes GP set the majority of the running. A couple of basic errors on his one lap in Q3 left Nico Rosberg languishing back in seventh place. Schumacher was an amazing third fastest, lapping consistently throughout qualifying. The previous Achilles heel of his comeback seems to be put to bed. Hamilton’s great lap in the opening stages of the session was good enough, despite two attempts from Button that ultimately left him just 0.149secs behind his team-mate.

Tomorrow’s Malaysian Grand Prix promises to be a real stormer of a race.

LEWIS Hamilton set the standard in practice for Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix. The McLaren driver looked comfortable on the Sepang layout throughout the day and ending up topping the timesheets today in both sessions. In the morning session, he lapped a full half a second faster than world champion Sebastian Vettel in very humid conditions. A few hours later, Michael Schumacher was the Brit’s closest challenger, but still 0.4secs slower. Although thunderstorms are forecasted for the rest of the weekend, Hamilton will start tomorrow’s qualifying session as an overwhelming favourite for pole position.

Having looked decidedly unhappy with his podium in Albert Park last Sunday, there were questions being raised about Hamilton’s attitude. However, he came across as a happier individual in the paddock today and looks in formidable form. Team-mate Jenson Button was playing down the pace of the car today, admitting to BBC Sport that this year’s regulations are making the circuit configuration harder for everyone. “It is always tricky around here. Compared to last race, there is far less grip around here. It’s working ok, but compared to last year, the new regulations make it far more difficult around here.”

Mercedes GP were McLaren’s closest rivals today, with Schumacher and Nico Rosberg featuring prominently in the top four in both sessions. Vettel, who expressed that the balance was not perfect over the team radio in the second session wound up a slightly frustrated tenth. He is normally cool, but even the young German seemed to be feeling the heat of Kuala Lumpur after his struggles this afternoon.

There was plenty of drivers who made use of the wide asphalt areas, although only Narain Karthikeyan stopped out on track today and that was after only eight laps in the first session thanks to a hydraulic glitch on the struggling HRT. The one driver who suffered the most was Paul di Resta, who went off the road twice. His first execursion was caused by a brake duct issue, which punctured one of his front tyres. The second mistake was down to driver error, although the Scot did keep the car out of the barriers.

Ferrari have brought a new chassis to this event for Felipe Massa, although the Brazilian made no impact on the times. Team-mate Fernando Alonso experimented with a new front wing in second practice and finished a solid sixth, after finishing up behind Massa in session one. There was a new driver in the car today, as GP3 champion Valterri Bottas took over from Bruno Senna this morning for Williams. The youngster accredited himself well, outpacing Pastor Maldonado before handing back driving duties to Senna this afternoon.

There was a blow for Kimi Raikkonen, when his gearbox which had been damaged by some off-roading in Australia overheated in the sweltering conditions. He will lose five grid positions for the race by getting a new gearbox. Raikkonen told Sky Sports F1; “It was a frustrating day. We struggled to get a good set-up and it felt quite slippery. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow.” Fellow Finn Heikki Kovalainen will get a five place drop too following a Safety Car infringement in Melbourne.

Raikkonen also mentioned about high levels of tyre degradation and the boss of Pirelli, Paul Hembrey has admitted that three stops are likely for most drivers on raceday. So, Mercedes GP look like a contender for top grid positions, Red Bull have work to do and McLaren certainly seem to be the leading force again. Weather permitting, Hamilton has to be confident for his chances tomorrow.

HERMANN Tilke’s first Formula One circuit was the challenging and demanding Sepang, home to the Malaysian Grand Prix. In the 13 runnings of the race so far, there have been plenty of great stories in a place known for its humid heat temperatures and biblical thunderstorms!

The first event was held in 1999 and the inagural race came at a crucial time for the world championship battle that season. Mika Hakkinen arrived in Kuala Lumpur with a slender two point advantage over Eddie Irvine. What’s more, Michael Schumacher chose this race to return after his six race absence as he recovered from the broken leg he suffered at the British Grand Prix. Schumacher returned in style, by qualifying a whole second faster than anyone else, then dictating the race so well, Irvine was almost too slow to beat him. The Ulsterman got help from the normal Ferrari no.1, twice being allowed into the lead. He used clever defensive tactics to keep an exhausted Hakkinen back in third place. Just as Ferrari celebrated a magnificent 1-2, the team were thrown out after measurements from the scrutineers suggested the team were running illegal barge boards. The fault was even admitted by technical director Ross Brawn and the championship was Hakkinen’s. Conversly, Ferrari’s lodged an appeal, saying the measurement taken was from an angle, not a flat surface. A week later, the FIA overturned the decision made by the stewards and Ferrari kept their victory.

The Schumacher family have had plenty of success down the years in Malaysia. Ralf produced one of his most convincing displays in 2002 to lead home a Williams 1-2. That day, his older brother clashed with Juan Pablo Montoya in the first corner and the Colombian was given a very harsh drive-through penalty. At least he made some history in becoming the first ever recipient of one of these penalties! Schumacher Snr won the final race in 2000, more remembered for the red wigs the team showered themselves on the podium with after wrapping up a second constructors title in a row. The race also brought a sad end to Johnny Herbert’s career, as he sustained leg injuries in a nasty accident when his Jaguar rear suspension collapsed. In 2001, the Ferrari team produced a stunning recovery from a synchronised gravel visit from both Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello, then a 84-second pitstop in the midst of a traditional Malaysian monsoon. The team’s decision to fit intermediates saw them ending up annihilathting their rivals once the Safety Car withdrew.

Malaysia was also the setting stone for a changing of the guard in 2003. Then, a 21-year old fresher looking Fernando Alonso stunned the paddock by becoming the youngest ever poleman for Renault. He went onto finish third on an aggressive strategy, becoming the first Spaniard on the Grand Prix podium since 1956. The race was controlled by Kimi Raikkonen, with the 23-year old winning his first race for McLaren, a feat that left Ron Dennis close to tears. That day gave us a glimpse of the exciting future that lay await for Formula One fans. A year later, Jenson Button joined the elite when he made up for two agonising near misses in Malaysia previously and earnt his first F1 podium for BAR Honda. For the record, the 2004 race was Schumacher’s third and final Malaysian success.

There were victories for Alonso in 2005 and 2007 for Renault and McLaren respectively and a Giancarlo Fisichella triumph in 2006, also for Renault. In 2008, Raikkonen produced a convincing display to take the honours on the tenth anniversary of the event. A Ferrari 1-2 was thrown away when Felipe Massa made an elementary error and spun into the gravel trap. Raikkonen has had plenty of drama down the years in Sepang and more came his way in 2009. Predicting a thunderstorm in this part of the world is always hard to do, but Ferrari attempted to do so and put Raikkonen on full wets on a bone dry track! The thunderstorm held off for a long while, but when it rained, you know about it. Fading daylight and the unrelanting rain meant the race was stopped and eventually abandoned, with half points being awarded. Button won his second race in a row for Brawn GP. On the same weekend, Lewis Hamilton was forced to face the media after being disqualified from the race in Melbourne for lying to race stewards.

Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel have turned the place into their own over the past two seasons, winning in 2010 and 2011. Can they make it a hat-trick in 2012? Vettel, Alonso and Raikkonen have all tasted success in Sepang in the past – who knows what will happen in 2012, especially with the forecast for a wet weekend.

IT MIGHT only be the second round of the championship this weekend in Malaysia but already, Felipe Massa is under a pile of huge pressure to deliver. The Brazilian’s shambolic performance in last week’s season opener in Melbourne has left his future prospects of staying with Ferrari hanging even more by a thread. On Tuesday, the Italian team announced that a new chassis will be flown to Kuala Lumpur, but is that enough to save the charming Ferrari no.2 from the sack.

From the moment Felipe spun off in the opening practice session, his fate in Albert Park of a mediocre performance was sealed. He never looked comfortable with the F2012, which it has to be said, is proving to be a real handful anyways. Qualifying saw him a distant 16th, four places behind Fernando Alonso. That was despite Alonso spinning out early on in Q2. Although he made an excellent start which saw him upto tenth, Massa quickly fell away from the leading group and spent the majority of the afternoon battling a poor chassis, high tyre wear and probably, his demons on a mental basis.

Massa struggled to hold off the Sauber cars in Melbourne on Sunday (Autoweek)

He was overwhelmed by the likes of Kimi Raikkonen and Kamui Kobayashi and the race ended with an unsavoury tangle involving the Williams of Bruno Senna. When you consider Alonso saved fifth place for the team and was lapping 2-3 seconds a lap quicker on a regular basis, it highlights Massa’s nightmare Down Under. I described his driving performance as akin to a pig on rollerskates! It is a sad and sorry decline for one of F1’s nice guys. Team principal Stefano Domenicalli is still backing his driver though, telling JAonF1; “We need to stay close to Felipe because it’s clear that he’s under pressure. I’ve asked his engineers to analyse the data on the car, also to reassure him.” It means that there can be no excuses this weekend.

Mentally, Massa is driving like Damon Hill did in his final, troubled season in the sport in 1999. The former golden boy of Ferrari has been cast adrift by Alonso’s arrival and moulding the team around the Spaniard’s comforts. The days of Felipe outpacing Raikkonen in their three years together are a distant memory. Has he ever recovered from the radio message below (using clever F1 2010 graphics) whilst leading the German Grand Prix by merit in 2010;

I don’t think he has and Shanghai aside last season, I don’t think he has driven as well as he did that day at Hockenheim. Immediately afterwards, he said he would walkaway from F1 if he was a no.2, having experienced a similar order at Sauber in his debut season, ironically at the same circuit.

Now I don’t know what Felipe Massa thinks about, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a mental note saying ‘it is wrong to beat Alonso.’ It is frustrating, as he can match the best on his day. Since Hockenheim 2010, it has led to those basic errors that littered his first season in 2002 reappearing far too regularly. Don’t forget his attempt to pass cars on the grass on the approach to turn one of the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix? Of course, his high profile incidents with Lewis Hamilton last year have been well documented.

Then, there’s the factor of the crash during qualifying for the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix when Massa was knocked out by a loose spring that had bounced down the road off Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn GP car. He might have scars for the incident, but big knocks can affect a driver. Ralf Schumacher had a similar experience after a testing shunt in 2003 and he never recovered from this shunt, while it took Mika Hakkinen the best part of 18 months to fully recover from his near fatal accident at Adelaide in 1995. Only Massa will know how much the Budapest shunt has affected him.

I do hope that the driver who came within seconds of the 2008 world championship does find some of his old form again. The bare facts are he hasn’t scored a podium since Korea 2010, the longest run a Maranello driver has gone without a podium since Eddie Irvine, 17 races between (1996-1997). We will see whether a new chassis is the solution to Massa’s problems. However, more races like Melbourne and Felipe will be lucky to see the season out, let alone hope for a contract extension.

WELCOME to my first driver performance scoring chart of the 2012 Formula One season which covers how I thought every driver did in the 2012 Qantas Australian Grand Prix from Albert Park in Melbourne;

SEBASTIAN VETTEL

A quiet start to Sebastian’s season, but he showed his championship class on Sunday afternoon. By his standards, he had a messy build-up to the weekend and a costly off in the last 15 minutes of FP3 left him short of track time for qualifying. A mistake on his second lap left him down in sixth position on the grid, but he proved he could race with an aggressive start and superb early pass on Nico Rosberg. He hunted down the McLaren’s in a car that doesn’t look perfect yet and granted, there was luck in the Safety Car getting him ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Nevertheless, an excellent start to his season with second place and useful points to take to Malaysia. 8/10

MARK WEBBER

Fourth place is Mark Webber’s best ever result in Melbourne which shows his struggles in his home event before. He was the stronger of the Red Bull drivers on Friday and Saturday, even battling a KERS failure in qualifying to admirably outqualify his team-mate. A dreadful start took him out of the running for victory, recovering well to finish less than a second behind Lewis Hamilton. 7/10

JENSON BUTTON

Champagne spraying for Jenson, while Lewis preferred to taste his bubbly (McLaren.com)

Jenson Button is in such a fantastic place at the moment. He has made McLaren his own team and a controlled performance saw him ease to victory at Albert Park for the third time in four years. Fastest in the very first session of the season, the standard was set. An excellent qualifying lap saw him get within 0.1secs of Hamilton’s incredible time on Saturday. From the moment he guided his car into the lead at the first bend, there was little doubt who was going to win. A superb and faultless beginning. 10/10

LEWIS HAMILTON

At least Hamilton looked happier after grabbing a pole position (remember his Korea reaction last October.) However, his rueful look on the podium suggested he was unhappy about how his race went. He called his start ‘shocking’ which was a bit harsh, considering he only had to give way to his team-mate. McLaren stayed out fractionally longer in their first stints and Button was always going to be serviced first, thanks to track position. The Safety Car played into Sebastian Vettel’s hands, but Hamilton couldn’t get on terms with the German in the last 15 laps. He must take the positives from a solid 15 point opener, despite things not going his way on raceday. 8/10

FERNANDO ALONSO

Ferrari feared the worst when they arrived in Australia and qualifying really showed their weaknesses. However, had he not spun into the gravel in Q2, Fernando Alonso would have probably still made the top ten. His usual metoric start had him upto eighth and until half-distance, was a factor for a potential podium. Pace on low fuel and worn tyres suggest the team is still a long way off, but in Alonso’s hands, he once again got the absolute maximum out of a car that looks well off-form. 8/10

FELIPE MASSA

How can you lap three seconds off your own team-mate in the same car? Felipe Massa had a shocker in Australia. Making a basic error and spinning off at turn nine in the first practice session set the tone for his horrendous showing. Had it not been for a timing error by Lotus, he would have made an embarassing exit from Q1 with the F1 backmarkers. Although he made up six places on the first lap, he went backwards rather than forwards and looks like a driver who has admitted defeat before the season has even begun. His exit came after a silly collision with Bruno Senna when he had lost the corner to the Williams driver. Carry on like this and he won’t even see out the season with Ferrari, let alone getting a new contract for 2013. 2/10

NICO ROSBERG

Rosberg had a frustrating weekend in Australia (eMercedesBenz.com)

Australia 2012 was a frustrating weekend for Nico Rosberg, not captialising on Mercedes progress made in the winter. He trailed Michael Schumacher all weekend and a scrappy qualifying session left him seventh on the grid, when third was possible. Despite a brilliant start which saw him leap upto fourth, Rosberg struggled with chronic tyre wear. He gamely held on against Mark Webber and Pastor Maldonado, but the Safety Car cost him positions and a clash with Sergio Perez on the last lap left him out of the points. 6/10

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER

Schumacher looks hungry and might have a car that will see him as a threat in 2012. He was fastest in Friday’s second practice session and looked comfortable all weekend with his new chassis. Fourth in qualifying was the best performance of his comeback on a Saturday and he held off Vettel easily until an unfortunate gearbox problem saw him make an early departure. He was struggling with rear tyre wear too, but the pace of Alonso’s final stint indicated that fifth place was a likely finish. Despite no points, plenty of encouragement for the seven-time world champion. 7/10

KIMI RAIKKONEN

The ‘iceman’ returned to F1 and his humorous team radio comment about blue flags suggested the hunger is back. Raikkonen’s weekend started badly with a power steering problem compromising his practice sessions on Friday. A mistake on his best lap and timing errors from Lotus meant Kimi was a surprising casualty in Q1 but he raced well. He will have taken great satisfaction in passing his former team-mate Felipe Massa and his overtake on Kamui Kobayashi in turn four was quality. Frustrated with seventh but it was a strong comeback. 7/10

ROMAIN GROSJEAN

Having looked all at sea on Friday, Romain Grosjean stunned the paddock with a magnificent performance in Saturday qualifying to line-up a magnificent third on the grid. His race was very brief and with a bit more experience, probably should have backed out when he lost position to Pastor Maldonado on the second lap. However, the contact was slight, so the Frenchman was unlucky to have suffered broken front suspension. He will learn from this and come back better for the experience. 7/10

PAUL DI RESTA

Second season syndrome for the Scot perhaps as di Resta was outshone by Nico Hulkenberg all weekend. Nevertheless, he kept battling away in a car that didn’t have the pace that testing had predicted and he showed his guile from year one to pull off a pass on Jean-Eric Vergne in the last corner and steal the final championship point of the afternoon. 6/10

NICO HULKENBERG

Hulkenberg looked composed on Friday to come second fastest in changeable conditions during afternoon practice. He qualified a solid ninth and made a great start too. Unfortunately, a knock from Mark Webber in the first corner melee damaged his steering and meant its two visits to Melbourne and no laps completed in either race. 6/10

KAMUI KOBAYASHI

Having gone fastest in Q1, Kamui Kobayashi underperformed in the second qualifying session and lined up an unlucky 13th. He had a great dice with Kimi Raikkonen in the race and despite being passed brilliantly by the Finn on lap 24, overtook him again after the Safety Car period. Benefited from Maldonado’s late crash to finish an unexpected sixth. 7/10

SERGIO PEREZ

A gearbox failure detected after his first run in qualifying left Sergio Perez at the back of the grid. He tried a risky one-stop strategy, which unlike 2011, won’t have worked had the Safety Car not intervened. He was seventh on the last lap, but a touch with Rosberg left his car wounded in the final few corners, leaving him powerless to defend against Kobayashi and Raikkonen. Considering all that, eighth place completed a strong start to the campaign for the Sauber team. 6/10

DANIEL RICCIARDO

Home nerves didn’t get to Daniel Ricciardo, who fought back well after a tricky beginning. Having qualified in the top ten, an iffy start left him part of a midfield melee and contact with Bruno Senna in the first corner left him needing to stop for repairs. Like Perez, the Safety Car brought back onto the tail of the midfield group, but he pulled off an aggressive pass on his team-mate to finish a creditable ninth and take round one in the Toro Rosso battle. 7/10

JEAN-ERIC VERGNE

There were rookie mistakes, but the Frenchman equipped himself pretty well on his debut. He only narrowly missed out on Q3 and despite two trips into the gravel during the race, might have taken a point. Only denied by a more experienced Ricciardo and di Resta pipping him in the last lap midfield frenzy. Still, plenty of potential here. 6/10

BRUNO SENNA

The Senna name is back at Williams, but Bruno had a tough time in Australia. He was a distant 14th in qualifying and got clobbered by Ricciardo on the first corner, leaving him with a puncture. Didn’t see a lot of him after that before another racing incident, this time with countryman Massa, left him with another puncture. Ultimately, suspension damage put paid to his chances of registering a finish. 5/10

PASTOR MALDONADO

If only for another half a lap! Pastor Maldonado was my surprise package of the weekend. The Venezuelan seems to excel on street circuits and he looked set for sixth place when he clobbered the wall hard on the last lap. Eighth place in qualifying, a lovely pass on Romain Grosjean early on and he kept up with the likes of Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso with consummate ease. If he cuts out the basic errors, Maldonado could well cash in on a far better Williams later in the season. 8/10

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN

Less than 0.7secs behind Kimi Raikkonen in qualifying proves that Caterham have made progress over the winter. The trouble is, everyone else has too. Heikki Kovalainen was delayed in the first corner and ran behind his team-mate Vitaly Petrov until an unspecified technical problem forced his retirement. An unseen infringement behind the Safety Car costs him a five place grid penalty for this weekend’s race in Kuala Lumpur. 5/10

VITALY PETROV

The star of last year’s race – Vitaly Petrov’s debut for Caterham will be one he will want to forget. Although he ran ahead of Kovalainen in the race, it was a steering problem that ended his day early and caused the deployment of the Safety Car. At least it added to the mixture in the closing stages. 5/10

TIMO GLOCK

Timo Glock battled well against the odds all weekend. He kept his head down and finished the race in 14th, only a lap adrift on his birthday. He got good mileage for Marussia and leaves the team with a shade of encouragement after a miserable pre-season. 6/10

CHARLES PIC

Charles Pic didn’t quite get to the end of the race, as high oil pressure saw him park up in the pits with five laps to go. Like Glock, the race was only going to be an extended test session, so 53 laps extra under his belt will no doubt help for future challenges. 5/10

As they didn’t qualify, I will not be rating the Hispania drivers this weekend.

On the first weekend back, plenty of excellent performances, some will be frustrated will how it went and others will seriously need to raise their game very quickly, starting in Malaysia this weekend.

JENSON Button made the dream start to the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship this morning. The Brit took his third Australian Grand Prix victory in Melbourne, leading from the start in a dramatic season opener. The 32-year old Brit started on the front row of the grid, but took full advantage of a wheelspinning start from team-mate Lewis Hamilton to lead into turn one and control proceedings in Albert Park from there. World champion Sebastian Vettel used a Safety Car period to leap into a fortunate second place, ahead of a rueful Hamilton, who looked disappointed with his final result of third.

Hamilton may have started on pole position, but conceded his Saturday advantage in an instant when he made a poor start. Button drew alongside his team-mate and even shifted into second gear earlier than he should have, which nearly threw away his early advantage. Michael Schumacher made an excellent start to move into third place, whilst Nico Rosberg charged into fourth from seventh on the grid as Romain Grosjean lost early positions in his Lotus. Further back, another slow start from Mark Webber triggered the traditional chaos into Albert Park’s tight first corner. Both Toro Rosso’s were involved in the meleee, with Daniel Ricciardo launching Bruno Senna’s Williams into the air. Both pitted for damage repairs at the end of the first lap. Meanwhile, a knock from Webber ended Nico Hulkenberg’s return to F1 before the lap was out. The order was Button, Hamilton, Schumacher, Rosberg, Vettel and Grosjean.

Grosjean’s race didn’t last much longer as contact with Pastor Maldonado on the second lap put the Frenchman into early retirement. Grosjean blamed his rival for the incident, telling Sky Sports F1; “I think Maldonado wanted to overtake me and braked miles too late and I couldn’t give more room. He hit my front wheel so it’s very disappointing.” Actually, the Williams driver was passed and it was only glancing contact that terminally broke the Lotus front suspension. Ultimately, a racing incident but nothing else that Maldonado could have done. Moments before, Vettel pulled off an outstanding pass on Rosberg to inherit fourth and chase after the sister Mercedes of Schumacher.

On lap six, an uncharacteristic error from Vettel saw him slide off in the first corner, luckily not losing a position. Five laps later, Schumacher copied the move, but a gearbox problem put paid to the Mercedes GP driver’s strong weekend. After the first round of pitstops, Button maintained his position at the front and by half distance, he had stretched his advantage over Hamilton to ten seconds. The McLaren team did leave their cars out when the softer Pirelli tyres ‘hit the cliff.’ Hamilton did an extra lap longer and this allowed Vettel to seriously reduce the seven second deficit between the pair. Fernando Alonso was showing that Ferrari did have some strong pace on heavier tanks of fuel, with the Spaniard in fourth ahead of Rosberg’s tyre hungry Mercedes GP and the recovering Webber. Further back, Kimi Raikkonen was entertaining the crowd as the returning Finn got into a feisty dice with Kamui Kobayashi. He also produced one of the early soundbites of the season on his team radio, when he said; “Why am I getting all the blue flags?” Race engineer Simon Rennie’s cool response was; “The blue flags are for other drivers, they are not for you Kimi!”

A double pitstop from McLaren on lap 36 looked set to have cemented the team’s 1-2 position, but Vitaly Petrov stopped his Caterham on the start-finish straight seconds later. With the Russian’s car in an tricky position, the Safety Car made its first apperance this season. Crucially, Vettel headed for the pits and didn’t have to slow down under the SC delta time given to all the drivers. Hamilton did and this enabled the champion to move into a dangerous second place, much to Hamilton’s frustration. At the restart, Button caught the rest napping and opened up a three second lead which never looked troubled as the race entered its closing stages. Attention soon focused on the battles behind and a dramatic final lap.

Chasing down a struggling Alonso, Pastor Maldonado had driven a sensational race and was on course for sixth place, which would have been his best ever result. On the final lap, the Venezuelan exited turn six and dropped a wheel on the astroturf. The lack of grip from his worn tyres meant he had no time to react and the result was a smashed Williams into the barriers. It was a sorry end to a stunning performance. Yards later, Sergio Perez and Rosberg touched in the fast turn 11 chicane. Both cars were hobbled and it allowed for some furious scrapping and a frantic finish for the final points positions. Ultimately, it was Daniel Ricciardo who benefited the most – vaulting up from 12th to 9th on the final tour.

Amidst all that last lap drama, Button crossed the line to secure a brilliant victory from Vettel, Hamilton and a fired up Webber, who recorded his best ever result in the Australian Grand Prix. Alonso did drop half a minute in the closing stages but salvaged fifth on a very difficult weekend for Ferrari. His team-mate Felipe Massa frankly drove like a pig on rollerskates all afternoon! He never got higher than ninth and his shocking performance ended following a messy tangle with Senna entering turn four. Although a stewards investigation was launched, neither driver was penalised. In the final lap melee, Kobayashi wound up an excellent sixth, followed by Raikkonen, a damaged Perez, Ricciardo and Force India’s Paul di Resta, who sneaked past Vergne to take the last point on the final corner of the race. A crestfallen Rosberg limped home 12th, leaving team principal Ross Brawn frustrated. He told BBC Sport; “Both drivers reported trouble with the tyres very quickly and we had to manage them all race. Michael’s gearbox problem was an added disappointment and Nico reported Perez hadn’t been fair, which added salt into the wounds.”

On the team radio, Button said; “Fantastic, what a brilliant way to start the season. You know, it shows what the winter does. The car is beautiful and the car is the quickest.” He is confident and on top of the world, both in morale and the early points leaderboard. It was a superb opener and we only have to wait seven days for hopefully more of the same in Malaysia.

IT IS A British lockout of the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s opening race of the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship. Lewis Hamilton took his 20th career pole position for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, just edging out double Albert Park winner Jenson Button in Melbourne. On a day full of shocks, the British team took the first two positions on the grid for the first time since the 2009 European Grand Prix.

Having set the fastest time in FP3, Hamilton and McLaren came into the acid test of the one hour qualifying session looking like the driver/team combination to beat. However there were plenty of surprises along the way. Kamui Kobayashi was the fastest driver in Q1 and Red Bull looked very beatable on a Saturday. World champion Sebastian Vettel spun off this morning and was working the steering wheel of his RB8 far more than he ever did with its predecssor. The big casualty of Q1 was Kimi Raikkonen. The returning champion made a mistake on his best lap, then an error with timing saw his Lotus drop out of the running, continuing the Finn’s messy return. As anticipated, both Caterham drivers and the untested Marussia cars failed to make the cut too. Neither HRT of Narain Karthikeyan or Pedro de la Rosa made the 107% rule and for the second year running, the team has been refused permission to start the season in Australia. Again, Hispania are a case of lost time, lack of ability and a total waste of garage space!

The plight of Ferrari had been very evident in winter testing, but even the Scuderia can’t have predicted the nightmare they were to have in qualifying. Felipe Massa only just made it out of Q1, but barely featured in the second session and when he did, he looked more like trying to keep the car pointing in the right direction rather than going quickly. As ever, Fernando Alonso looked to be getting more out of his car. His chances of making the top ten ended with a rare mistake from the double world champion, as he copied Massa’s error in Friday free practice by dropping two wheels onto the grass. Same result was produced as even the Spaniard’s class couldn’t save him from being beached in the gravel, although it was at turn one, not turn nine where Massa spun off yesterday. He starts 12th and Massa 16th; Ferrari’s worst combined qualifying since Raikkonen and Giancarlo Fisichella lined up 11th and 19th for the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The car looks slow, unreliable, monstrously ugly and is struggling to stay in a straight line! They aren’t far away from crisis point.

Hamilton looks the man to beat in Melbourne (Planet F1)

Into the final qualifying session and Hamilton set a blistering lap of 1.24.922. No-one initially came close, although Button went only a tenth slower on his second run. Critically, Hamilton abandoned his second run when notified that the pole was his. Strangely, Red Bull didn’t get their act together. An off-colour Vettel begins sixth, behind Mark Webber. The Australian told Planet F1 afterwards; “I don’t know what happened to Seb on his last lap, it looks like he made a mistake. I didn’t have KERS either but I’m satisfied with the job I did.” Michael Schumacher was an excellent fourth for Mercedes GP, three places better than a scrappy Nico Rosberg. This allowed the Frenchman Romain Grosjean to end up a sensational third on his return to the sport for Lotus. Solid efforts from Pastor Maldonado, Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo saw them complete the top ten in eighth, ninth and tenth respectively.

The last time Lewis Hamilton started from pole at the Australian Grand Prix was in 2008. He won the race and ended up taking the title too. A good omen perhaps? In the press conference, he said; “I think it is going to be incredibly tough and intense through the race. Obviously looking after the tyres is going to be key. The team need to be prepared tomorrow, as do me and Jenson and I’ll make sure we are.” Well, McLaren not only have the prettiest car in 2012, but for now at least – look to have the fastest too. Tomorrow’s race looks set to be a real cracker.

AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING – THE GRID (All times are fastest in Q3)

AT 1.30am this morning UK time, Formula One roared back into life with the first practice session for the 2012 Australian Grand Prix. However, not much was given away thanks to the force of Mother Nature. Intermittent showers made the day difficult to judge, but both McLaren Mercedes and Mercedes GP will have plenty of reasons to be encouraged.

Schumacher kicks up the spray on his way to the fastest time in FP2

Jenson Button led Lewis Hamilton to a McLaren 1-2 in the first practice session. A late lap from Michael Schumacher was enough to end quickest in the second session. Button drew first blood in session one with a fastest time of 1.27.560, which pipped Schumacher to top spot. Moments later, Hamilton who has Lenny Kravitz and Nicole Scherzinger in Melbourne for support, went 0.2secs slower than his team-mate. However, McLaren set the standard and left an early mark on the field. An interesting Mercedes GP concept with their rear wing has raised some protest in the paddock, although the FIA scrutineers have declared it legal. Schumacher played down his pace today, but they certainly look far more competitive than they did at the start of 2011.

The chasing pack in the first session was led by Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari, followed by Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg. Alonso was maximising everything out of his car, as he nearly smashed his machinery into the wall at the last corner right at the end of the session. There were problems for returning champion Kimi Raikkonen, who was restricted to just eight laps in the first session, thanks to a power steering problem. Raikkonen still wound up ninth fastest though.

Felipe Massa’s season began badly when the Brazilian decided to experiment with putting his rear wheels on the grass at turn nine. The result was a beached Ferrari and precious track time lost for the under pressure driver. The only other driver to notably visit a gravel trap was Sergio Perez, caught out by a damp track early on in FP2. A downpour before the second session meant there was little chance of running until the last 15 minutes for any useful data. It looked like Nico Hulkenberg would end up fastest in the afternoon session for Force India, until a last lap from Schumacher left him as top dog, although with a slower time than the morning session. It was a messy day by Sebastian Vettel’s high standards with the world champion failing to trouble the leading times but Red Bull seemed to be taking the cautious approach and will surely have something in reserve for the remainder of the weekend. This was later confirmed by team boss Christian Horner, who revealed to Sky Sports that the team had not yet ran on light fuel.

It was a nightmare day for Hispania on their first day of any running in 2012. Narain Karthikeyan grounded to a halt after only three laps in the morning with a mechanical problem. Pedro de la Rosa could only do one lap, due to a lack of spare parts. With their fastest time being a full 13 seconds off the pace, don’t be surprised to see the 107 per cent ruling claim the Spanish team as a casualty in Albert ParK for the second year running.

In summary, it was difficult to read a lot into today’s running due to the inclement weather. The forecast for the remainder of the weekend seems to be indicating at a dry qualifying session and sunny raceday. McLaren and Mercedes will be the happiest, whilst Ferrari looked a bit better than testing form suggested and Force India confirmed their place as the leaders in the midfield pack. Only after qualifying tomorrow will F1 2012 begin to have a tentative pecking order.

AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX FREE PRACTICE 1 TIMES

1. Jenson Button (McLaren Mercedes) 1.27.560 – 11 laps

2. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes) 1.27.805 – 14 laps

3. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes GP) 1.28.235 – 17 laps

4. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 1.28.360 – 21 laps

5. Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing Renault) 1.28.467 – 21 laps

6. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP) 1.28.683 – 22 laps

7. Daniel Ricciardo (Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari) 1.28.908 – 23 laps

8. Pastor Maldonado (Williams Renault) 1.29.415 – 16 laps

9. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus Renault) 1.29.565 – 8 laps

10. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber Ferrari) 1.29.722 – 26 laps

11. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing Renault) 1.29.790 – 21 laps

12. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India Mercedes) 1.29.865 – 17 laps

13. Paul di Resta (Force India Mercedes) 1.29.881 – 18 laps

14. Bruno Senna (Williams Renault) 1.29.953 – 21 laps

15. Sergio Perez (Sauber Ferrari) 1.30.124 – 22 laps

16. Romain Grosjean (Lotus Renault) 1.30.515 – 16 laps

17. Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham Renault) 1.30.586 – 16 laps

18. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1.30.743 – 11 laps

19. Jean-Eric Vergne (Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari) 1.31.178 – 17 laps

20. Vitaly Petrov (Caterham Renault) 1.31.983 – 8 laps

21. Timo Glock (Marussia Cosworth) 1.34.730 – 8 laps

22. Charles Pic (Marussia Cosworth) 1.40.256 – 11 laps

BOTH NARAIN KARTHIKEYAN AND PEDRO DE LA ROSA (HISPANIA COSWORTH) SET NO TIME IN FP1

Here is a sneak peak at what I will be doing in the build-up to and every weekend of the 2012 Grand Prix season;

– A charted history of every country that is hosting a Grand Prix this season ,with archive footage through YouTube.

– Biographies of drivers in the sport from the last 25 years (1987 onwards) both legends and those who weren’t so good. There will be two of these every weekend and this feature will begin at next week’s Malaysian Grand Prix.

– Detailed reports from Friday practice, the Saturday qualifying session and of course, the Grand Prix.

– Selected driver quotes from the race weekend.

– A driver rating tracker after the race, analysing the performances of all 24 competitors during the weekend and scoring them to see who is my no.1 at the end of the season.

– Plus, some other special features during the season.

This weekend, due to a family occasion, my race report won’t go online until Monday evening and qualifying report is unlikely – but my aim is to keep you up-to-date with the latest news throughout.

Also, you can follow me at @Siwri88 on Twitter.

I look forward to blogging during the 2012 season; FORMULA ONE IS BACK!!